Marisol
by BrownEyedRose
Summary: A TUp oneshot I wrote in the early hours of the morning. Enjoy!


**A/N:** I don't own them. (the real note is at the bottom.. I don't want to give away any plot points. xoxoxo)

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Sometimes, she wondered whether he'd ever see her as more than his friend, his sister, and his protégée. Wondered if he could ever feel just a little of what she felt for him.

"Hey, Taz. Penny for your thoughts."

She looked up. It was him. "What? Why would I want a penny?"

Up grinned. "It's an expression. Like, 'to kill two birds with one stone.' You know."

Confused, she cocked her head. "Why would I be killing birds with a stone? Wouldn't it be easier to use a zapper?"

Up bit back laughter. "Never mind Taz. I just wanted to know what you were thinking about."

"Oh, nothing." _You_.

"Oh. Well, Kati told me to come find you. She said that you were supposed to be teaching a class right now."

Taz groaned. Teaching was one of her least favorite duties as a Junior Lieutenant. "Really? Now?"

"Yeah. It's a group of brand-new cadets. Go and scare the shit out of them."

"No problem."

Taz stood, and left the room, banishing any thoughts of Up. _He's your friend, he's Up, he's your friend, he's 12 years older than you, he's Up. _She had been repeating those words to herself for the last six months.

It hadn't worked yet.

Busy repeating her mantra to herself, she arrived at the training center faster than she thought she would.

"You?" A snide, rude voice came from behind her. "You're our teacher? How old are you? 12?"

Taz turned around. A blonde Cadet was standing there, a smirk dancing across his face. "Get in line." She hissed, voice taking a dangerous edge.

The kid didn't listen. He just walked closer to her, still smirking. He was probably around 18, a 3rd Class Cadet, just a year younger than her. And about a foot taller.

"Get. Back. In. Line."

One of the other Cadets ran out of the line. It was a girl with long black hair, who looked vaguely familiar to Taz. She pulled on the kid's arm, and whispered something in his ear. He looked at Taz again, this time with a bit of fear. The girl also looked at Taz, almost begging not to be hit for leaving the line.

Oh, yes. This girl. Yesterday, Taz had watched the Cadets receive their uniforms. Black-haired girl had stepped out of the line before she was dismissed and got a black eye for her trouble. Well, if the black-haired girl could get the blond back in line, she wouldn't get hit. If she failed…well… that was a different matter. But, Taz didn't have to worry about hitting black-haired girl again. The blonde quickly walked back in line, eyes big. Black-haired girl probably told him the story behind his black eye.

"Now, jou wanted to join the G.L.E.E for the glory, huh?" Taz yelled. "Huh?" She walked right up to the blonde boy, who gulped and nodded. Taz pulled back her fist and punched him in the jaw. "Well, jou are not going to get glory until you know how to fight. How many of jou can fight? How many of jou have even been in a fight before?"

Not one kid raised their hand. "Pathetic. Jou are a bunch of weak, soft children. How do jou expect to fight, to live if jou've never fought before?"

Walking down the line, she pointed out seven of the twelve cadets. "Jou, jou who I just pointed to. Jou know what? Jou will be dead before jour first mission." She then pointed to the four of the remaining five cadets. "Jou will die within jour first year. Only one of jou will survive to be promoted. Which one of jou will it be?"

The kids were trembling. Pathetic. She had never been this scared as a cadet.

"Now, Cadets," She said scathingly, "Jou will step out of that line and tell me jour name."

She started with the blonde boy, who turned out to be called Trevor. The other names were said, and promptly forgotten, until she got to black-haired girl.

"My name is Marisol."

Taz let a gasp escape her lips. Marisol. That was a name she had heard a thousand times a day, back in another life. Marisol. She thought she'd never hear it again, never have to remember. Snapping out of her thoughts, she saw that the whole class was staring at her.

"Okay, cadets. Jou think you have what it takes?"

They nodded, looking wary.

"Then, go outside, and run laps until jou can't run anymore. There is a Ranger out there. Give the number to them. If any of jou get below 25…"

Taz made a threatening snapping movement with her hands.

The kids stared at her in slight terror.

"Did I ask jou to sit around? GO!"

Taz stormed out of the gym before the last kid had left. Well. They weren't kids. Not really. They were only a year younger than them. But, she felt older. That counted for something.

"KATI!" Taz screamed into the teachers' observation room behind the gym. "KATI!"

The redheaded Ranger came out. "What? What's wrong?"

"I don't feel well. When my group of cadets come back in, could jou tell them to return to their rooms?"

Not waiting for Kati to answer, Taz walked away. She didn't want to think until she reached somewhere private. She couldn't go to her room, because being a Junior Lieutenant meant that you shared your room with someone else. And, she didn't want her nosy roommate asking her questions. The only other option was Up's room. He would let her lock herself in the bathroom, to think. Or, if he didn't he wouldn't ask questions.

"Up! UP! UP! LET ME IN!" She yelled as she slammed on the door.

The door opened, and Taz almost fell in the room. "You have the passcode, Taz. You don't have to knock, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. I forgot."

He shook his head. "So, what do you want?"

"Somewhere quiet. Don't talk to me."

With that, she sat down in the corner of the room.

_I'm being estúpido. A name shouldn't do this to me. _But, it wasn't just a name. It was her name. It was everything she had been before her _Quinceañera. _It was a reminder of everything she had lost, everything she wasn't getting back. _Marisol. _It was a reminder of her dead sister, her dead parents. Of Marisol herself, the child she had lost that day. Because, Marisol was dead. Just like her parents. Pretty, flirty, carefree Marisol was dead.

And it was then that Taz started to cry.

"Taz? Um…Taz? You okay?" Up asked, his voice full of concern.

"I told jou not to talk to me." Taz whispered into her hands.

Up looked down at her. She was curled up in a ball, her face buried in her hands, sobbing. Without a second thought, he picked her up and placed her gently on the couch. Sitting beside her, he asked, "Taz. What is wrong? Tell me. Now."

"I'm being stupid." She muttered. "There is a girl in my new group of recruits. Her name is…is… Marisol." The name was suddenly hard to say.

"And?"

"I knew a Marisol once." Taz whispered. "I was Marisol."

Up looked at her in amazement. Not sure what to say, he came out with, "It's a pretty name, you know?"

"I hated it. But, just hearing it…I remembered things I didn't want to remember." Taz gasped. "Marisol belonged to a different girl. She's dead. And, I remembered her. And her family. And…" Taz started crying again.

"You mean your family." Up said gently. "Taz, you can't think of yourself as dead. That girl, Marisol, is still there. You have to remember her sometimes, okay?"

Taz nodded. "It's easier. If Marisol is dead, I can forget those memories."

Up didn't know what to say. So, instead of saying anything, he kissed the top of her head, and leaned over to hug her.

Taz stiffened when he kissed her. _It was just a friendly kiss. It was. It was a "my best friend may be having a nervous breakdown kiss."_ Right?

The familiar mantra of, _He's your friend, he's Up, he's your friend, he's 12 years older than you, he's Up _started again. Taz suddenly felt tired.

"I'm going to sleep, okay?" She mumbled.

Up waited until she had fallen asleep, and then dug around in a messy closet until he found one of the G.L.E.E issued blankets and gently draped it over her sleeping form. He walked across the room and sat in a large armchair. As he picked up his book and started to read, he though of her. He wondered whether she'd ever see him as more than her friend, her brother, and her teacher. Wondered if she could ever feel just a little of what he felt for her.

But, that was impossible.

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**A/N:** Okay. So, what I wanted to say is that Marisol isn't Taz's name in _Rangers_. None of my oneshots go along with the plot in Rangers. At all. She's called Marisol because I like the name. Please review? (I hate begging for reviews. But.. this isn't begging...is it? It's politely asking. No. It's begging. I'm sorry. But, please review?


End file.
